ie8 fix

iOS software

iTunes now Apple's fourth-largest business, says analyst

Apple's iTunes generated revenue of $13.5 billion last year, making it the company's fourth-largest business, according to Asymco analyst Horace Dediu.

A business that simply broke even a few years ago has been rising "steadily and rapidly," Dediu said in a post yesterday. iTunes has averaged growth of more than 30 percent over the past two years. The $13.5 billion in sales in 2012 was up from $10.2 billion in 2011.

At the same time that iTunes is adding a greater chunk of sales to Apple's overall results, the Mac and iPod … Read more

Talkbits voice chat app is Twitter for voice messages

You walk the walk, but can you talk the Talkbits? Talkbits is a location-based real-time social voice stream -- in other words, it's like Twitter with voice messages.

Instead of pithy typed messages, the new Talkbits app lets you say something or ask a question and then make that spoken message available for people nearby to listen and respond to. And you can hear messages from other people in a public stream, chatting for free to people nearby or around the world.

These spoken messages are sorted in geotagged channels so you and other people nearby can hear and … Read more

Nike snubs Google: FuelBand sticks to iOS and Web

Bad news for Nike FuelBand owners waiting for the company to release a companion app on Google's Android platform.

The company today said that's not happening, and that the only way to ferry over data to a mobile device will continue to be Apple's iOS platform.

"To deliver the best experience for all Nike+ FuelBand users, we are focusing on the FuelBand experience across iOS and nikeplus.com, where you can sync your activity, set new goals, and connect with friends," Nike told Droid Life in a statement. "At this time, we are not … Read more

The Hunger Games Adventures for iOS: Playtime in Panem

Can't get enough Katniss Everdeen? The next movie, "Catching Fire," won't hit theaters until November, but you don't have to wait until then to return to Panem.

The Hunger Games Adventures takes you there, after a fashion, challenging you to explore, battle, and, well, make money. It's kind of a quest-oriented FarmVille, and in fact the game originated on Facebook.

If that's not your thing, or you prefer more action, check out Hunger Games: Girl on Fire. It's an endless runner that's all about running, jumping, and shooting.

Here, you need … Read more

Latest iOS jailbreak dubbed the most popular ever

Just days after its release, one of the most high-profile iOS jailbreaks turns out to be the fastest to be adopted too.

Evasi0n, which gives iPhone, iPod, and iPad owners deeper access to the software on their devices than Apple allows, has been downloaded and used by nearly 7 million people since its release on Monday, Forbes reports.

To put that figure in perspective, Apple last month said that it had sold more than 500 million iOS devices cumulatively, and that 300 million of those were running iOS 6 -- its latest major release.

The 7 million tally comes from … Read more

Crave giveaway: Nuance Dragon Dictate for Mac 3

Congrats to Craig L. of East Wenatchee, Wash., for winning a $200 gift certificate to geek shop KlearGear.com in last week's giveaway, and to Chuck V. of Eden Prairie, Minn., for scoring a bag of CES swag the week before that. Now, on to this week's business...

Are you a fan of speech recognition software? Put your hands up in the air. We're giving away a copy of the latest version of Nuance's Dragon Dictate for Mac.

Dragon Dictate for Mac 3 promises 15 percent better out-of-the box accuracy than its predecessor, as well as … Read more

BlackBerry Z10 camera versus iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S3

BlackBerrys haven't always had the top cameras in the industry, but with the BlackBerry Z10's 8-megapixel camera, things are turning around.

In my tests so far, the Z10's shooter largely succeeds. Over the course of my testing period, I got some really nice outdoor shots, plus some crisp indoor photos of everything from food labels to receipts. Of course, not every indoor picture or portrait turned out great, but I found the images usable overall (check out my Z10 review for even more photos).

So let's see how it compares with two other high-quality smartphone cameras, … Read more

Rumor Has It: Facebook wants you to be a stalker IRL

This week's show is all about those rumors that just refuse to die -- and for once we're not talking about the next iteration of the iPhone.

Some sneaky sneaks found hidden "radio" buttons in the iTunes code of a freshly jailbroken iPad. Does that mean that radio streaming is coming soon? Or is it just leftover code that someone didn't bother to take out? Rumors of Dell going private finally came true after weeks of speculation and much to nobody's surprise. The PlayStation 4 might be announced in a couple weeks, which could mean it'll be released this year, but maybe next year, but maybe who knows?

But the most upsetting of all the rumors is maybe a new one, but definitely a gross one: Facebook is said to be prepping a standalone app that will let your friends know where you are, without you having to check in to anything.… Read more

How to jailbreak any iOS 6 device, including iPhone 5

If you've been waiting to jailbreak your iPhone 5, or any device running iOS 6 and higher, today is your lucky day. A new tool called evasi0n was released just this morning.

The new tool is very simple to use -- in fact, it's easier to use than the iOS 5.1.1 jailbreak tool I covered last year. Taking far less time, and only a few steps, if you're comfortable clicking a few buttons on your computer and tapping an icon on your iOS device, you're more than prepared to use evasi0n.

A required warning, … Read more

Latest jailbreak for iOS arrives, works with iPhone 5

Despite Apple's best efforts to keep users from gaining deep access to its iOS software, it's proven to be a cat-and-mouse game that just won't quit.

The latest -- from the mouse front -- is a tool called evasi0n, which was released this morning. The software jailbreaks the most recent version of Apple's iOS 6 software, something that's already been accomplished. However this new, much-awaited tool continues to work even if you restart your iPhone or iPad, and also works with the iPhone 5. … Read more